Iron chef Jose Garces vs. chef Franklin Becker.

Four chefs call on their culinary skills as they face off against one another to prepare a spectacular three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, entree and dessert. The catch? In each round, they have to use all the ingredients the show provides them, however unlikely they might be (Gummi Bears, anyone?). At the end of each course, a panel of three guest judges "chops" one chef who fails to measure up in terms of taste, presentation and creativity. The last chef standing takes home bragging rights and a cool $10,000. Ted Allen hosts.

Bobby Flay is no stranger to culinary competitions, whether he's hosting ("Bobby's Dinner Battle") or competing ("Throwdown With Bobby Flay"). In this program he does both. Each half-hour episode begins with two chefs competing to create a dish using an ingredient chosen by Flay. The winner of that challenge -- as determined by a special guest judge -- goes to the second round, in which he or she does battle against chef Flay. To make things a little more fair, the challenger has an advantage by being able to prepare a signature dish that is unknown to Bobby until the start of the round. Once he learns what the dish is, Flay must immediately come up with his own version. A panel determines the winner of the second round through a blind taste test. Food Network regulars Sunny Anderson, Anne Burrell and Giada De Laurentiis are among the judges appearing on the show.

Aspiring chefs compete for their shot at culinary stardom.

Chef Bobby Flay travels around the United States and tries to beat award-winning cooks at their own game. While the unsuspecting cooks think they're participating in one Food Network special or another, Flay and his team study up on their opponent's dish and get in some practice. Then Flay and company surprise the cooks during a taping session, challenging them to what amounts to a cook-off -- Flay's team and the cooks each prepare the dish, which is taste-tested by a panel of impartial judges. The specialties can be anything -- wedding cakes, pizza, barbecue, pie and more. Sometimes Flay wins, and sometimes he loses. As he says, "It's anybody's game."

Competition to become the host of a cooking show.

Sixteen of the country's best amateur cooks compete for the title of America's Best Cook.

Chefs mentor amateur cooks in an attempt to transform them from kitchen zeros to kitchen heroes.

Coming up with ideas for dishes using the mystery ingredients provided on "Chopped" can be difficult for adult chefs with years of experience, so imagine how difficult it is for young chefs on "Chopped Junior." In this version of the long-running franchise, children are tasked with making something out of mystery-basket ingredients that don't seem to go together. The usual "Chopped" judges are joined by celebrity guest judges to determine which kids advance after each round. The winning cook earns the same $10,000 prize that adults win on the main show. If things get a little too intense for the youngsters, host Ted Allen is there to comfort them and encourage them to keep going.

"Cutthroat Kitchen" isn't a typical cooking competition. A player, in addition to being a good chef, must be able to outwit and, at times, sabotage opponents to win. Each episode features four people vying in three rounds to win up to $25,000 cash. At the beginning, $100,000 is split evenly among the players to spend however they wish during the game. The chefs spend the money at auctions to get things that could help them -- like buying exclusive use of salt -- or hinder their opponents -- like prohibiting them from tasting a recipe in progress. Each round eliminates one chef, until there is a winner. Although the competitors want to make purchases at auction to improve the chances of winning, they don't want to spend too much; the amount remaining in the winner's bank determines the ultimate prize. Some special tournaments -- usually seasonally themed -- stretch across multiple episodes and offer higher amounts of money. Alton Brown hosts.